Heartbeat 'N Rhythm
by Winterbyrd
Summary: After the events of "Heartsong," Nico's earned his spotlight in the club scene. The future looks bright for this young party bird, but it's still a jungle out there! Will he stay on top or go down swinging? All bets are off with a mastermind afoot in Rio! She's anything but sweet, and she's got monkey business on the brain. Nico-centric. Pre-movie plot. IN-PROGRESS.
1. Hide And Seek

**Author's Note:** _Annnnd I'm back for more. Haha, I really didn't expect to get this done so fast. I admit, it comes at the expense of my homework. Tsk, tsk. Well, anyway, here we go again! This story probably won't be anywhere near as long as "Heartsong," but I don't exactly know where it ends yet either. I'm building up to at least one very interesting little event though. If you haven't read "Heartsong", I'd say that so far, it won't matter much. Things may start referring back later though, so new readers be warned. Hope you enjoy. ;)_

"_Lady killer, jaw dropper, mixtaper, chart topper,_" Pedro was rapping in a deep, robotic voice. He was quite enthusiastic about the whole thing, nodding his head to the imaginary beat and moving his wings in front of him as though he was working a DJ's records. "_Ghetto blaster, headliner, track slammer, fire starter, rock staaar…_"

Nico stared for a moment and then broke into a smile. "Good stuff, Pedro," he declared, hopping up from the edge of the nest where he had been sitting. "We'll work that in for sure."

The cardinal grinned with pride. "A'ight, cool," he said, folding his wings back to his side and beginning to rock back and forth on his heels with contagious energy. "Let's go somewhere! Do somethin'! How 'bout the beach? The club? Ooh, how 'bout the—"

"Whoa, whoa," the canary interrupted, holding up one wing for silence. "We got plans, remember?"

Pedro's expression fell; he couldn't suppress a groan. Shifting his eyes, he muttered, "C'mon, we ain't really gonna go through with that, right? I mean, it's crazy!"

"Can't back out now. Rafy's counting on us, man," Nico shrugged in response.

"Ugh…"

The two birds took to the air and headed in the direction of the toucans' hollow. Bright sun, warm air, cool breeze—the perfect conditions for flying through the jungle. They spontaneously started up a game of "tag" that had them rocketing through branches and whipping through leaves so fast that they nearly lost sight of the reason for their flight. After a bit of backtracking, they finally arrived at their destination.

Rafael poked his head out when the fluttering of wings and idle chatter caught his attention. "Ay, meu amigos!" he called down to where his friends rested on the jungle floor near the base of his tree. "I'm glad you're here! Need your help with something, alright?"

"Sure, what's up?" Nico asked in reply, raising an eyebrow. He found himself noting the odd lack of noise or movement in or around the hollow; in his experience, the toucan chicks were usually running rampant.

"Where's everyone, anyway?" Pedro had clearly picked up on the same strange silence.

"Around," the toucan said with a bout of nervous laughter, awkwardly scratching at his head with one wing. "Actually, that's what I need your help with…"

The cardinal titled his head suspiciously and crossed his wings. "Spill it, Rafy. We watchin' chicks or not?"

"Ah, mais ou menos," Rafael said vaguely, stepping out onto the threshold of his hollow and gliding down to face his friends. He clutched a small rock with one foot, slowly overturned it to reveal the mass of squirming bugs beneath, and muttered, "Thing is, amigos, you'll… have to _find_ them first."

"You LOST 'em? Eva's gonna pluck you clean, bird!"

"I know, I know!" the toucan admitted miserably; the shame was causing his shoulders to sag and his wingtips were dragging in the dirt. "Carlos wanted to play hide and seek." He sighed heavily before continuing in a desperate tone: "Ay, you know how those kids are… they were gone before you could say quatro, cinco, seis!"

Nico now looked sympathetic. "No worries, we'll get 'em back. Right, Pedro?"

"Righ—wait, _what_?"

The canary rolled his eyes, punched his friend's shoulder, and said, "You heard me. C'mon, you think we can't outwit a few chicks in hide 'n seek?"

"This ain't just a 'few,' bird! There's, like, fourteen of the little demonios," Pedro exclaimed in protest, his wings spread wide for emphasis of the number. As an afterthought, he added with a sheepish grin, "No offense or nothin', Rafy. I'm just sayin' here."

Rafael simply shrugged at this, seeming perfectly unfazed. "Bien, bien. It's fine, amigo. I get it," he said all too casually, turning his back and strutting aimlessly toward the underbrush. Extending one wing, he snatched a simple pink flower from a nearby branch and studied it thoughtfully, nodding in apparent approval of the specimen. "Uma flor… for meu amor. Ten years to the day, but it'll do, no?"

"Er…" The cardinal was burning up with guilt. He had almost forgotten that today was Eva and Rafael's anniversary; that was the very reason he had agreed to watch their chicks to start with.

_Awkwaaard._

Nico broke the silence. "Just do your stuff, Rafael. We'll handle this," he announced, marching off in the direction of the jungle's thickest growth (and, by extension, its best hiding spots). Throwing a stern look over his shoulder, he added, "Come _on_, Pedro."

"Don't lose your tail feathers, bird. I'm comin' already…"

**RIO**

There was no time to waste. Eva was scheduled to return from her special "day off" around sunset, and she was thoroughly under the impression that her chicks were _not_ scattered across the dense jungle landscape, to say the least. Their mission, therefore, was simple—round up the flock of miniature troublemakers, pop them back into their nest before bedtime, and smile innocently when the female toucan returned.

What could _possibly_ go wrong?

"I don't like this," Pedro grumbled as he pushed past a few stubborn vines that were hanging in his path. A few steps later, he almost tripped over an astoundingly large and slimy black slug. "…Why ain't we flyin' again?"

Having long tuned out his best friend's running commentary, consisting mostly of complaints, Nico paused by an old trunk and glanced around. "This way," he said decisively, moving left.

The cardinal followed after him with a skeptical expression. "You know where we're goin'?"

"Not really," the canary smirked in reply, hopping over a fallen branch.

SNAP.

Pedro froze in his tracks. "Hold up. What was that? You heard that, right?" he asked in a frantic whisper, biting his own wingtips as his eyes shifted over the visible terrain.

Nico stopped, exhaled impatiently, and raised an eyebrow. "It's nothing, man. C'mon, let's keep going…"

CRACK.

"That ain't nothin', you hear?" the cardinal demanded, crossing his wings and stubbornly refusing to move another inch.

The canary shrugged a bit dismissively, but nonetheless opted to investigate. He cocked his head and tuned his ears to pick up any more subtle noise—the sound had originated from behind a large fern, which was now rustling gently despite the still air.

"Tio Pequeno! Tio Pedro!" came the cheerful cry as one of the missing toucan chicks darted out and tackled her uncles to the jungle floor. Giggling madly, she called back over her shoulder, "S'okay, Jaime! It's not Mami!"

"Aww, Bia, not again… we always lose at hide 'n seek," Jaime grumbled as he emerged.

Pedro grinned, in spite of himself, at his youngest niece, who was now perched happily on his belly. "Hey, 'sup, Bee? Long time, no see," he winked at her before rolling over onto his side and letting her plop gently into the leaves. Turning to his nephew, who looked desperate not to mope over another game lost, he greeted, "Jaime, my man! Gimme some wing, 'ey?"

Having stood and brushed out his feathers, Nico broke into a smile as Bia hopped energetically around him. She was among the youngest, and therefore smallest, of the toucans' brood. All the same, he mused, she outgrew him with every passing day.

"Listen up, guys," the canary said gently once the two chicks had calmed down enough to listen, causing them to exchange worried glances. "Your daddy sent us out looking for you."

"Um, Tio Pequeno?" Bia asked in a squeaky voice, brown eyes wide. "We in trouble?"

Jaime shifted nervously and piped up with, "It was Carlos' idea!"

"Nah, you ain't in trouble," the cardinal said breezily. Grinning mischievously, he whispered, "So long as Mami doesn't find out, am I right?"

Nico slapped a wing over his face. "What your Tio Pedro _means_ to say…" he started, taking a moment to shoot a glower of disapproval at his best friend for his less than exemplary influence over a brood of chicks that were already prone to violent insanity, "...is that Mami's gonna worry if you aren't all back for bedtime, _okay_?"

With a shudder, Pedro muttered, "Ain't a corner in Rio that's safe when your neck's on the line with Eva."

There was an awkward pause until the canary said, "Right, so… can you two help us out?

Bia and Jaime, gulping at the thought of their mother's wrath, nodded very slowly. The younger chick was anxiously clutching her brother's wing with both of hers. _Two down, twelve to go. _It was going to be a long afternoon.

Howler monkeys were at the scene when they recovered Ana, Tiago, and Cruz. From the look of things, the three chicks had been hiding in a thick cover of foliage when the monkeys had come around to snack on the leaves. Their interest in the petrified little birds was decidedly minimum, yet their guttural voices had been more than enough to paint a monstrous portrait.

Marco was found stuck in a hummingbird's hollow, his rump being attacked by the angry dwellers. Delia and Donato had tricked a family of sharpbills into sharing their lunch. Paulo, Ines, and Luiza were happily napping atop an elderly capybara who was grazing in a small clearing; they had rolled around in the mud to camouflage themselves against the enormous rodent's brown fur. Manuel was discovered moving across the jungle floor beneath a halved and hollow coconut—he hadn't gotten very far, what with the constant bumping into tree trunks that had left him dizzy and disoriented.

"That leaves…"

Pedro grimaced. "Sofie and Carlito."

**RIO**

Sunset was fast approaching, and Nico was trekking through the jungle underbrush alone. In the event that Eva returned early for any reason, he thought it best that Pedro take the bulk of the toucan chicks home. There were but two left missing. He could handle that, right? It was an unfortunate detail that the missing duo were the worst of all in mischief.

Unblinking brown eyes were watching his every move from the shadows. The canary forced down a hard gulp when he noticed. What were those chicks up to now? If push came to shove, he would be forced to confront the sad fact that his niece and nephew were easily outside his weight class.

"Carlos? Sofia?" he called out calmly, hoping that acknowledgement of their presence would discourage them from attempting to startle him.

No answer, though the watchful eyes had quickly withdrawn.

Nico heaved a sigh and started toward the place where the toucan chicks appeared to be hiding. At this point, they couldn't very well make an escape without leaving a trail. He was closing in on them—he felt confident of that much.

The canary's foot brushed against something. He looked down, squinting to see what in the half-light beneath the tree canopy. It had the appearance of a thin green snake, but logic would suggest that snakes weren't usually sprouting leaves. Shrugging to himself, he shook his foot a bit to dislodge the vine from where it had almost snagged his ankle. As it happened, that was a grave error.

WHOOSH.

Quite suddenly, the whole world was upside down. It happened so fast that Nico's squeak of surprise was almost a delayed reaction. He was swinging from left to right, barely able to avoid smacking into a large mossy tree trunk. What in the name of samba was going on?! His bottle cap was glinting from beneath a pile of leaves below; in his daze, he reached toward it, but to no avail—it seemed miles out of reach in his current position.

Purely devious laughter erupted from the branch above. With some strain, the canary could see his niece perched there above. Her eyes were sparkling with delight at the scene.

"Sofia!"

The toucan chick smiled shamelessly. "Ola, Tio Pequeno!" she greeted brightly.

Muffled guffaws drew attention to where Carlos was clinging with his beak to the other end of the vine. He waved his wing to say hello as he allowed his weight to dangle freely. Toucan beaks being fairly strong, he could be there all night; both he and his uncle were all too aware of that fact.

Nico first opted to force their surrender with threats. "Your mother's hearing about this, you two!" he informed them with every drop of intimidation he could muster (unfortunately, it wasn't much).

Bargaining, perhaps? "Okay, okay! I won't tell your mother. Let's go home, forget it ever happened… how 'bout that?" No such luck.

That settled it. He was down to the least dignified option of all: supplication. "I'm gonna be sick!" the canary exclaimed desperately—not a complete lie as he could feel lunch sloshing around inside him. His wings, which had previously been flapping hard, now pointed limply to the ground. With what he hoped was a pitiful expression, he said, "_Please _let me down, guys. We can talk about this, right? C'mon, I'm begging you, Sofie."

Sofia turned up her beak in a sassy gesture, then frowned. "Whatever," she mumbled at last, nodding some kind of silent instruction to Carlos.

That did it. Nico came crashing down in a small yellow heap. His eyes were glazed and his vision was spinning when he sat up from the pile of vine around him. "Thanks," he managed to mutter, slowly pulling himself to his feet.

"We're not coming home yet," Sofia announced from where she still perched above.

Exasperated, the canary looked up at her. "And why not?"

"Daddy said today's special," the toucan chick explained matter-of-factly, crossing her wings. "Daddy also said you and Tio Pedro were coming so he could find a gift for Mami." She paused. "We wanna find a gift for Mami too, and we're not coming home until we do!"

"So that's what 'hide and seek' was all about," Nico murmured to himself, stooping to pick up his bottle cap. He flipped it back onto his head before saying, "Gift or not, doubt your Mami's gonna be too happy about this."

"Humph," Sofia replied, sticking her tongue out.

"Hey, c'mon, that's not— AHH!"

Carlos had snuck up behind his distracted uncle and begun picking feathers like daisies. He grinned, face full of yellow down, when the canary turned around to fix him with a withering stare.

Nico closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. "Tell you what," he said patiently, "I'll help you find a gift."

Sofia tilted her head at him suspiciously, brown eyes narrowing. "What's the catch?"

"No catch," the canary promised, holding his wings up defensively. He gestured for the toucan chick to come down, waited until she had reluctantly fluttered to the jungle floor, and then continued: "Listen, I know something your Mami's gonna like way better than any gift, alright?"

"Like what?" Carlos demanded with thinly masked interest.

"Well, um, how 'bout a song?"

Looking incredulous at this suggestion, Sofia repeated, "A _song_?" She looked at her brother for some kind of opinion on the matter, but he only shrugged his wings in response. "Can we even DO that?"

"Don't see why not," Nico said evenly; his wingtips were discreetly crossed behind his back. If this failed, he was clean out of ideas to get these two home.

Sofia nodded after a while. "Okay… I guess."

"Well, it was worth a sh— wait, what?" the canary asked in disbelief, more than a little taken aback by his niece's cooperation. He cleared his throat and added, "I mean, uh, great!"

"This better work… or else," the toucan chick said, rolling her eyes and beginning to walk toward home.

Carlos yanked out a few yellow feathers that were lodged in his beak and then waved the unpleasant bouquet around menacingly to emphasize his sister's "or else." With that, he scrambled cheerfully after her, paying little mind to his uncle's expression of relative horror.

Nico groaned. Had he just been threatened by a couple of _chicks_? "Every bird has a song," he muttered half-heartedly as he followed his niece and nephew into the underbrush. For the sake of his feathers, he certainly hoped so, anyway. Of course, he had only ever heard Rafael sing, and his brow furrowed at this realization. There were_ rumors _about Eva's, ahem, _abilities_… but what were rumors worth, anyway?

**Author's Note:** _Pedro's little rap is an excerpt of Taio Cruz's "Shotcaller." This was originally looking to be a oneshot or so, but I've decided to move the scene that would have composed said oneshot into what will probably be the third chapter. I'll be having a bit of fun leading up to it. Mmh, that said… everyone's meant to be sliiiightly older here than with Heartsong, so yes, Rafy's chicks are a little more talkative (and mischievous) than before. Of course, Nico will also be meant to display improved confidence. Right then! Thanks for reading/reviewing! See you next time._


	2. Natural Disasters

**Author's Note:** _Before anything else, I have a SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT. (Ooh, capslock!) Here's the deal, guys, I had an amazing idea last night. I thought about it so much that I barely slept because I was too busy doing that "evil laugh" thing (which you just have to do when an idea hits). The point is that I lied—in other words, this here story has just been upgraded to a full-fledged SEQUEL. I'm really excited to introduce you all to my newest villain, but I'm afraid the plot isn't expected to get rolling until the end of the next chapter or so. Until then, please enjoy some fluffiness! The calm before the storm, so to speak…_

"You told 'em WHAT?" Pedro was in hysterics as the last rays of sunlight disappeared behind the trees. He wiped a tear from the corner of his eye and choked out, "Seriously, bird… you gotta be jokin'."

Nico glanced away, scuffing his toe into the dirt. "They can't be_ that_ bad."

"Sure, sure," the cardinal said with a smirk, barely containing more laughter. Turning on his heel, he began whistling as he strolled away from the toucans' tree, pausing only to voice an afterthought: "Good luck keepin' those feathers on!"

"Wait, where're you going?!" the canary called in frustration, chasing after his escaping friend. "We've got a serious problem here!"

"Uh-uh. _You've_ got a serious problem."

"But—"

Pedro waved his wings in front of him as though to dispel the budding protest. "Don't even, man," he said seriously, shaking his head for emphasis. There was no way he was getting himself involved in this mess. _No way._ Except… "Wha— what're you doin'? H-hey, stop that…"

"Stop what?" Nico inquired with the purest tone he possessed. His wings were wrapped as far as they could go around his best friend's torso and he was staring upwards with wide brown eyes that were suspiciously hypnotic.

Who could say no to THAT?

The cardinal grumbled something inaudible. "A'ight, a'ight… I'll help," he finally gave in, throwing his wings up in exasperation. With a frown, he added, "Enough with the eyes, man. It's kinda creepy."

When Nico and Pedro entered the toucans' hollow, they were greeted by sheer chaos. Black blurs zoomed this way and that, and it was difficult to determine their intentions—the chicks' were either cleaning the place up for their parents or they were trashing it further. Whatever the case, their uncles' entrance distracted them very little from the task at hand.

"Oi, todos! We got like… five minutes!" the cardinal announced loudly over the commotion, trying to get some attention. "So how 'bout we start rehearsin'?"

No answer.

"Maybe we should—" the canary was starting to say when he was suddenly bowled over and flattened by an unripe mango. It may well have been a delayed anarchistic response, but there would be no proving it.

Bia cheerfully popped up atop the fruit, smiling innocently. "Whatcha doing, Tio Pequeno?" she giggled, tilting her head down at her uncle, who appeared to be making silly faces up at her.

Pedro cleared his throat. "Say, Bee, can you do somethin' for your Tio Favorito?"

The toucan chick perked up and nodded rapidly. "Uh-huh!"

"Great, great… so here's what I need you to do…" the cardinal started, leaning closer to whisper in his niece's ear. When she curled her wingtip into a 'thumbs up' gesture and scurried away, he hastily turned back to addressing the dilemma of a certain squished best friend—except there no longer any sign of yellow feathers beneath the mango.

"Tio Favorito, huh?" came the unimpressed voice of Nico, who was now seated cross-legged in the space atop the mango where Bia had vacated.

"Y-you know what I mean, bird," Pedro laughed awkwardly in reply, scratching the back of his neck with one wing.

"Right. So what was that all about?"

"Wha— oh, Bia? I just—"

A none too polite shout demanding silence echoed throughout the hollow just then, originating with none other than the petite and sweetly smiling Bia, who was perched atop a coconut with both wings on her hips. Turning her beak up contentedly, she added, "Tio Pedro and Tio Pequeno wanna talk!"

The requested silence ensued, and so Bia hopped down and threw herself at her uncles with a huge grin. "Did I do good?! Huh?! Did I?!"

"Y-yeah… that was great, Bee," the cardinal managed to reply, shell-shocked by her vocabulary. Seeing the sidelong look he was getting from his best friend over it, he whispered desperately out of his beak's side, "What? I didn't teach her that, man!"

Sighing, the canary stepped forward. "No one repeats that, got it?"

Yawning boredly, Sofia leaned lazily against the hollow wall and regarded her uncles with a low-browed stare. "That what you wanted to say?" she asked breezily, inciting murmurs of agreement among her siblings.

"Actually—"

"_What a wonderful surprise, my pudgy papaya!_"

"_Anything for you, __meu __amor__…_"

Romantic gibberish and girlish laughter just outside the hollow signified the approach of Eva and Rafael. The toucan chicks jumped into action like firecrackers, flitting this way and that in some manner of organized chaos. As the last of their preparations came together, it became apparent that they were constructing a makeshift stage—how they had managed to organize that behind their uncles' backs with such little time to spare was anyone's guess. It was no small feat.

Marco smacked a glob of tree sap to the wall and pressed the last of a swarm of trapped fireflies there to produce ambient lighting. Green glowing mushrooms, potted in halved nut shells, were already lining the edges of the stage. Iridescent feathers dangled like curtains against the farthest wall from threads of grass—this was, no doubt, Carlos's own proud contribution from his personal "collection."

"Santo tucano!" Rafael exclaimed in amazement, the first to appear on the threshold. "What's all this!"

Eva craned her neck to look over his shoulder. "What is it, Papi?"

"_Tall and tan and young and lovely_," Sofia began singing at the top of her lungs, backed up by Delia and Ines. Their shrieking just about drowned out the simultaneous drumming efforts of Manuel and Donato. "_The girl from __Ipanema__ goes walking now…_"

Ana and Luiza chimed in less than melodically with, "_When she passes, each one she passes goes_—"

"_Daboo-dee-do-dah!_" Bia sang enthusiastically as she went running up to her mother, clutching both her legs in a tight embrace and smiling up at her.

Nico looked halfway between sobbing and fainting, but Pedro was doubled over in silent laughter. Although he had never actually heard the toucan chicks sing, he wasn't entirely shocked to find that their mother's awful performance genes had dominated over their father's charming voice. He was a rarity, after all; toucans weren't generally known for their singing around Rio.

Sofia was now moving her hips a little too well for her age, singing, "_When she walks, it's just like a samba that swings so cool and sways so gentle…_"

"…_That when she passes_," Delia and Ines continued, "_each one she passes goes—_"

Bia, having nearly missed her cue, sang quickly, "_Daboo-dee-do-dah!_"

"_Oh, how I watch her so sadly… how can I tell her I love her?_" Jaime, Cruz, and Tiago stepped forward to sing in unison. Surprisingly, their harmony was not quite so atrocious—perhaps Rafael's genes hadn't gotten completely lost. "_Yessss, I would give my heart gladly…_"

"_But instead, when she walks to the sea,_" Paulo and Carlos piped up, "_She looks straight ahead, not at me!_"

With that, it was back to the unholy shrieking chorus of Sofia, Delia, and Ines: "_Tall and tan and young and lovely,_" they sang out with every passion, clutching their wings to their hearts and closing their eyes. Enthusiasm was about the only admirable quality; in combination, their voices were ear-shattering. "_The girl from __Ipanema__ goes walking…_"

"_And when she passes, I go—_"

The blank stare on Bia's face suggested that she wasn't sure what to sing next, so she loudly threw in a strain of utter nonsense that seemed to please her siblings just fine, as they continued without a hitch.

"_The girl, the girl, the girl,_" the toucan chicks all sang together now. "_From __Ipanema__, from __Ipanema__…_"

Bia hummed more of her gibberish while Manuel and Donato tapped out an accompanying beat with a couple of sticks and a few large dried out avocado seeds.

It was back to the boys. "_Oh, yeah, I want her so badly! How… how can I tell her I love her?_" They had their wings over each other's shoulders, swaying back and forth to the rhythm. "_Yes, I would give my heart glaaadly…_"

Carlos popped up onto Jaime's shoulders, ignoring the squawk of protest, for a shot at a solo: "_But instead, when she walks to the sea… she looks straight ahead, not at me!_"

"_Tall and tan and young and lovely,_" the girls sang together, though Sofia's trembling voice rose above them all. "_The girl from __Ipanema__ goes walking…_"

Jaime, having thrown his younger brother off, sang solo now: "_And when she passes, I smile… but she doesn't see! She—_"

"—_ain't looking at me_," Carlos hastily interjected with a glare.

"_Ooooh…_" Sofia drew out this final lyric far longer than reasonable, cheerfully echoed by Bia.

Dead silence.

Eva sniffled a few times and then spread her wings wide to invite her chicks into a rare embrace. "Oh, my angelitos! Aqui, aqui," she gushed tearfully, overwhelmed by the unexpected performance of her and Rafael's special song on, well, their special day! "Obrigado, obrigado... muito obrigado!"

"Um, Tio Pedro? Why're _you_ crying?" Bia inquired when she had squeezed out from her mother's grip to find the cardinal trying desperately not to pound a fist into the floor with laughter.

Pedro failed miserably to compose himself for a reply. "G-good question… Bee," he snorted, covering his beak with both wings to shield his amusement.

Nico, meanwhile, was staring unresponsively at the blank wall. What had his ears just experienced? Would he ever recover from the ringing in his head? These and many other questions drifted lazily in the back of his mind, but at the forefront there was only complete and utter denial that he had EVER bought into the greatest lie of all time: that every bird had a song.

"Ay, I'm thinking you two had something to do with this, no?" Rafael asked suddenly, his face lit up with a warm and grateful smile.

"Nah, bird! It was all Nico here, am I right?" the cardinal replied with a mischievous sparkle in his eye.

The canary took a moment to fully register those words. When he did, though, he jumped into the air like he had just been electrified and began saying repeatedly, "No, no, no, no—"

Pedro was grinning devilishly. "C'mon, don't be _modest_ or nothin'…"

"I'm not—I didn't—"

"He's right, amigo! Eva couldn't be happier," the toucan interrupted, draping a friendly wing over the smaller bird's narrow shoulders. He sighed happily as he looked over at his wife, who was now being dragged around the hollow as their chicks showed off the stage they had built. "Ten years… and what a day! I owe you boys."

Nico shifted awkwardly, shooting a glare at his best friend when he got the chance. "_Really_, it was nothing…" he assured the older bird, trying to push his wing away. "_Right_, Pedro?"

Ignoring all this, Rafael said proudly, "Between us, my kids are pretty good, 'ey? Just like their Papa!" He was beaming so widely that neither of his friends had the heart to bulldoze this delusion. "Bet they'd be great backing up your act at the club tomorrow night! Just picture it…"

The canary, for one, was picturing it clearly—as a sheer and utter apocalypse, that is. Even the cardinal was at a loss for words over the hypothetical horror.

If his hearty laughter was any indication, the toucan was none the wiser. "Just joking, amigos!" he exclaimed, causing the two smaller birds to chuckle weakly along with him. They gulped as he winked and added, "But seriously! Think about it."

"S-sure, Rafy!" Pedro squeaked lamely, snatching Nico's wing and beginning to back out of the hollow. "We gotta go, so…"

**RIO**

Moonlight shone bright in the two birds' hollow later that night. They had both collapsed into their nests when they had first arrived, exhausted from their afternoon with the toucan chicks. Now, though, sleep was stubbornly evading Nico and he found himself staring up at the dark ceiling with eyes wide open. Something was nagging at his mind, something he hadn't mentioned to Pedro just yet.

"Pedro? You awake?"

"Mmh…"

The canary rolled over onto his side until he faced the lumpy silhouette of his best friend. "I just—nevermind, it can wait," he said quietly, picking at the leaves in his nest.

"Wha? Jus' say now, 'kay?" the cardinal replied, blinking sleepily.

Nico hesitated. "It's about tomorrow night," he started, pausing to grit his beak. _It's not a big deal_, he had told himself again and again, but actually _saying_ it wasn't so easy. He continued, though not before inhaling deeply: "It's about Kali…"

Silence.

Pedro suddenly shot up in bed like a lightning rod, turning to face the smaller bird full on. With a highly suggestive tone, he inquired, "What _about _Kali?"

"She asked…" The canary's full statement was inaudible; it came across like a mush of sound.

The cardinal raised an eyebrow in the darkness. "Say again?"

Another inaudible mumble.

"Spit it out, bird!"

"SHE ASKED ME TO SING WITH HER."

Nico was breathing hard from the exclamation. He found himself indebted to the cover of nightfall as a warm blush spread across his cheeks, burning up his feathers. Why was it so embarrassing to say? Was that even the right emotion? Embarrassment? He hadn't the slightest clue.

After a moment, Pedro cracked up laughing—that had been happening a fair bit today. "You're so wound up, man," he smirked when he had composed himself slightly. "What's the big deal?"

"I thought you'd be mad," the canary admitted, fidgeting with his wingtips.

The cardinal was legitimately confused by this. "Uh, _why_?"

"Dunno… 'cause we're partners, I guess."

"So what, you plannin' to replace me? That it?" Pedro said jokingly, crossing his wings in mock offense.

Nico, taking this far more seriously, jumped up in alarm. "No way! It's just for tomorrow," he insisted, brown eyes full of sincerity. It was evident in his voice even though his expression was mostly shadowed. "_She_ asked _me_, you know."

"Thatta bird! Reelin' them hotwings in."

"It's not like that!"

"Uh-huh…"

Feigning a yawn to discourage his best friend's stuttering protests, the cardinal plopped back into his favored sleeping position. "I'm beat! Let's hit the nest, 'ey?"

The canary reluctantly nodded his agreement, settling down into the leaves. "Night, Pedro…"

"G'night, Nico." There was a long pause punctuated by snores which gradually evolved into something suspiciously like a hum until, at last, softly sung lyrics punched through the stillness: "_Mmh, Kaaali-fornia dreamin' on such a_—"

"Shut. Up."

**Author's Note:** _I love writing for Nico and Pedro. I couldn't resist that ending. It's more amusing if you know the song though (my mom loves singing it through the Canadian winters). It's called "California Dreamin'" by The Mamas & The Papas. As for the toucan chicks' song, that's pretty obvious. It's "The Girl From __Ipanema__" and it's sung by several million different people, but I based the scene on Amy Winehouse's version. Her rendition, while not my favorite, worked well for the chickies. Okay, well, thanks for reading/reviewing! Keep your eyes peeled because the curtains will be opening on the real plot at the end of next chapter, and I promise things will get very interesting after that. I'm off to indulge in evil laughter now. ;)_


	3. About To Crash

**Author's Note:** _I'm so sleepy, but I wanted to update this tonight regardless. The only hazard is that I haven't proofread most of it, so let me know if something's off. Other than that, thank you very much for the reviews (you all are great), I hope you enjoy reading, and I will have more important stuff to say at the end!_

"Stop pacin', bird," Pedro grumbled, his head resting on his wing as he sat back and watched his best friend go from one end of backstage to the other. "Seriously, watchin' you's gonna make me sick."

Nico wasn't listening. He continued moving about restlessly, all the while chewing on his wingtips.

Every bird who was any bird would be rocking the samba club tonight. Duets combining popular acts were nothing to shake a feather at, and a successful performance could very well prove legendary. This, of course, meant _pressure_—like, pressure akin to a thousand beached whales on the shoulders of one small bird. Intense wouldn't even begin to describe it.

Rafael had been speaking, but only some of his words filtered through the canary's thoughts, and that's only after he had registered his presence to begin with: "—wrong with him?"

"He's just freakin' out," the cardinal answered boredly. "Like he's been doin' _all day_."

The toucan spread his wings in a shrug. "Stage fright?"

"What? No way!" Nico snapped instantaneously, frowning a bit. Looking pointedly towards his best friend, he added, "I'm not 'freaking out' either. I'm…" He trailed off, trying to think of something believable. "I'm stretching, okay?"

Pedro and Rafael exchanged glances and then burst out laughing.

"That the best you can come up with, man? For real?"

Ducking his head in embarrassment, the canary was about to stalk away from his still laughing friends when he narrowly avoided crashing into the very reason for his nervous pacing—Kali had just arrived backstage.

"What's happening, boys?" she greeted amiably, tossing her feathery crest out of her eyes with a grin.

Nico backed up so fast that his heel caught on a wire and he promptly lost his balance. The toucan's wing spread out behind him, steering him away from the cliffs of mortification. This happened so quickly and discreetly that the blush he wore under his feathers after the fact seemed out of place.

Kali gave him a look, head tilted but still smiling. "You okay, Nico?"

The canary hurriedly nodded. "Uh-huh."

"Oi, you two are on in five! Get those tails in gear," a rough looking blue and yellow macaw yelled toward the group as he shuffled past, perfectly unconcerned with their response.

"You heard the bird!" Kali laughed good naturedly, winking at her canary counterpart (who could only manage to return a half-smile). She nudged Pedro and motioned for him to follow as she started walking. "Listen, man, I was thinking…"

"What's that all about?" Nico mumbled as he watched them go, thinking aloud more than anything else.

Rafael cleared his throat rather loudly. _Too_ loudly.

The canary raised his eyebrow accusingly at the older bird. "What?" he demanded.

"What?" the toucan echoed back ever so casually, shrugging his shoulders. His warm smile, slightly confused brown eyes, that barely noticeable angle to which his head was leaning—they were all so utterly taunting. The crown of his mockery was the next remark: "I didn't say anything, amigo."

Nico nodded long and slow, eyes narrowed. "_Exaaactly_."

"You worry too much, my friend!"

**RIO**

Darkness fell across the club like a blanket and, with it, a hush of attentive expectation. That moment was eternity. Standing on the black stage, posed but unseen, waiting for the cue. How long until the beat began? How long until the rhythm infiltrated every hollow bone, every quill, every feather? The art of performance was not so unlike a magical craft, and once the music pushed through the speakers, a spell would be cast on audience and vocalists alike.

It was almost time. Just a breath away.

Vibrant orange and yellow lights erupted overhead, but Nico's eyes were closed. He listened for the precise moment when his beak should open, holding the lyrics at the tip of his tongue. When the warmth of spotlights washed over him, he tilted his bottle cap down to block the glaring whiteness and allowed the song to spill out: "_Now I know how to get down on the floor…_"

"_Experienced in moves you can't ignore_," Kali chimed in, strutting across the stage with practiced allure.

Nico absentmindedly moved in her direction, though he ultimately hung back. "_But something 'bout this beat that's got me hooked," _he sang, bobbing his head in time with the drums.

The female canary curled her wingtips and beckoned him toward her side of the stage, singing, "_Come over here and take a closer look…_" She winked flirtatiously and then whirled back to face the audience, her torso swaying like a ribbon in the breeze. "_'Cause I can't get enough, I can't get enough… I can't stay on the ground!_"

"_Whoaaa!_" Nico sang back, twirling his bottle cap on the end of his wing. He allowed it to go spinning into the air, up into the lights—his intent was to let it fall back on his head when it came down. "_I can't get enough, I can't get enough… this is taking me now!_"

"_It's taking me higher, higher… higher off the ground._" Kali swooped over the stage just in time to catch the male canary's precious cap on her own head. She grinned at him as she hovered just out of reach and with a teasing shrug, continued to sing: "_It's taking me higher, higher… higher off the ground!_"

Nico raised an eyebrow, scrambled atop a soda can and flung himself into the air. "_I do this just for kicks, just for the thrill…_"

Kali's laughter trickled into the lyrics she sang next: "_I got this high without taking a pill!_"

"_This groove has got me way over the sun,_" the male canary sang as he gave chase in a way that necessitated looping around the highest stage lights. Their white hot intensity was almost enough to singe his chest feathers as he whipped past, eyes fixated on his bottle cap—which was still evading him despite his best efforts.

The female canary smirked as she landed back on the stage and waved her stolen prize tauntingly. She held it over her head, swaying this way and that. "_I'm dancing like I am the only one…_"

"'_Cause I can't get enough, I can't get enough… I can't stay on the ground!_" With some fancy footwork, Nico drew close enough to snatch his bottle cap back. Flipping it onto his head with a victorious smile, he gave a shallow bow and then spun away. "_Whoaaa…_"

"_I can't get enough, I can't get enough_," Kali sang, hugging her wings to her chest. "_This is taking me now!_"

Nico had fluttered to a dangling wire and was now lazily hanging from it, singing, "_It's taking me higher, higher… higher off the ground!_" He released one foot, allowing himself to fall sideways until he was suspended upside down in the spotlight, much to the excitement of the audience. These spontaneous stunts were perhaps his favorite part of any performance at the club. "_It's taking me higher, higher… higher off the ground!_"

Blue and purple lights erupted as Pedro unexpectedly slid out onto the stage on his knees, stopping just short of the edge. He jumped up, locked eyes with his surprised best friend, gave a short nod, grinned widely, and began rapping: "_I got my feet in the air and my head on the ground and the rest of my body's somewhere in the clouds…_"

The cardinal was cheered on by whoops and hollers as he dropped into a breakdancing position. "_I'm comin' down no time soon… like I'm tied to a couple hundred helium balloons! Looks like I'mma be up for a minute!_" In a rather impressive feat for a bird of his weight, he managed to balance himself on one wingtip for a moment and then flip into the air. "_Such a beautiful feeling, idn't it? When your body and soul plateau on a level that just feels so infinite!_"

Pedro exchanged a wing slap with Nico as he rocketed away and disappeared from the spotlight, leaving the male canary alone at center stage. "_The music's got me going higher…_" he sang slowly, slipping off his bottle cap and holding it under his wing.

Kali, who had melted into the shadows while the cardinal was rapping, now stepped out to rejoin the performance. She offered a warm smile to the male canary, stretched out a wing to him, and allowed her voice to blend with his for the next line: "_I feel like I can touch the skyyy…_"

"_It's taking me higher, higher… higher off the ground_," Nico started up solo once more, pulling away from the female canary in a daze. "_It's taking me higher, higher… higher off the ground!_"

"_It's taking me higher, higher… higher off the ground_," Kali echoed, dancing deliberately in his direction until she had almost cornered him against a stack of old books near the back of the stage. She was letting her voice fade, and the music too was dwindling into nothing. "_It's taking me higher, higher… higher off the ground…_"

The lights dimmed to signal the end of the two birds' performance. Appreciative cheering swept through the dance floor and molting feathers were thrown their way like confetti or rose petals. In that fleeting moment of shadows, Nico felt something brush against the feathers on his cheek, gentle but firm.

Kali had moved to the edge of the stage before the male canary could jump to any conclusions. He thought maybe that she caught his eye over her shoulder briefly. Just _maybe_ though.

**RIO**

"…And you're tellin' us these monkeys made you sing?"

"Nonstop, man. Never been the same since. It, like, changes you."

"Hah. You believe this guy, Nico?"

The canary in question blinked. "Huh? What?"

"C'mon, tell me we ain't losin' you, bird," Pedro said with a raised brow, prodding his best friend's shoulder. They were seated together off to the side of the dance floor biding their time until the stage crew gave the okay for their performance; a few technical difficulties had set them back a while. It was an opportune time to kick up their heels and soak in the crowd's energy.

Enzo, a yellow parakeet who was usually seen on the drums, pushed a half-empty thimble of thick red nectar across the overturned bowl that served as a table. "This'll wake you up," he said lazily, shrugging one shoulder and licking a drop from his beak.

The cardinal shot out a wing, successfully intercepting the drink. "That ain't the fix, man. Get 'im some water, would ya?" he requested, frowning at the parakeet.

Silence lapsed between the two birds as Enzo sluggishly peeled himself away and disappeared into the crowd. Nico stared after him for a moment; his head felt like a whole lot of white noise.

Pedro was studying him without any particular expression. "You tired?"

"No," the canary had started to reply when a genuine yawn betrayed him. "Maybe."

"Didn't look it up on stage," the cardinal remarked, smirking when his friend glanced away to conceal an obvious blush. He stood from the table and stretched his wings out, saying, "Listen, do what you gotta do. We ain't up just yet. Meantime, I'll be takin' care of some… _business_."

Nico resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Sure, Pedro," he chuckled softly, waving his friend away.

Left on his own, the canary could feel his exhausted mind beginning to drift. What a night he'd woken from much earlier that day. His stomach full of knots. His heart racing from moonrise to moonset. Frankly, pre-show nerves were something that hadn't bothered him in what seemed like ages, but Kali… somehow she managed to break his confidence down without even trying. On stage, he'd left that all behind for the act, but now, in this spot of quiet, insomnia was racing to catch up with him.

_Gotta wake up. Still gotta perform. Pedro's counting on me._

Enzo returned just then with a wingful of sloshing thimbles and a lopsided smile. If the freshly dripping rim of red around his beak was any indication, at least one of the drinks had already been sampled. He plopped himself down on a seat and proudly shoved his bounty to the middle of the table—nectar, nectar, and more nectar.

"Thought you were getting water," Nico said warily as he reached out and pulled one of the thimbles closer, unwillingly tempted by the sweet smelling aroma it emitted.

"Just be cool, mannn," the parakeet shot back in a drawl, making himself comfortable. He raised his own drink in the air, apparently making a silent toast, and before chugging it down, said lowly, "This right here's the good stuff… it's like—I dunno—livin' la vida loca."

The canary hesitated, jumping when Enzo suddenly slammed down an empty thimble. He _was_ thirsty. Vocalists with dry throats weren't too good, right? The club's nectar was pretty watered down, anyway…

Hours passed. No, minutes. Seconds?

Nico stumbled out into the dance floor, feeling like the birds around him were moving in an endless circle. They possessed an extraordinary ability to defy the laws of dizziness, he mused to himself. One step at a time. No familiar faces. Which way was the stage? Left. That way. Was that left? He shook his head and turned toward the other left. Tick, tock. Pedro would be waiting for him.

"There you are, amigo! I've been looking all over," a familiar voice cried over the crowd's patchwork conversations.

"…'Scuse me?" the canary asked, turning around and jabbing a wingtip at the speaker.

Rafael's expression was the picture of puzzlement, but that soon gave way to flat out concern—and then low-browed disappointment. He crossed his wings accusingly, eyes locking onto the smaller bird's beak where the telltale red residue confirmed the worst of his suspicions. "Dios mio, Nico! Tell me you didn't."

"Didn't," Nico retorted like it was the most clever response he'd ever made. With that, he turned to leave, but an urgent weight on his shoulder stopped him in his tracks. Sooner than he could react, the toucan had spun him back around and hoisted him into the air for scrutiny, leaving his legs to kick and dangle uselessly above the ground.

"Pedro won't be too happy about this," Rafael informed the canary, shaking his head as he continued to hold him up at wing's length. In a thoughtful tone, he added slowly, "You know, this isn't like you, amigo. Nectar on samba night?"

Nico shook his head vigorously. "Uh-uh! 'Twas… water."

"_Water?_" the toucan repeated incredulously, rolling his eyes up.

"W-A-T—"

Rafael groaned. "That does it!" he said decisively, causing the smaller bird to tilt his head curiously. "Let's just… get you home."

Home didn't sound like much fun. Perhaps not in the most logical state of mind, the canary sought to deal with this by chomping down on his perceived captor's nearest accessible flesh. There was a loud exclamation of pain (but mostly surprise) before he was dropped rather unceremoniously to the floor. Snickering over his success, he wasted no time in bolting through the toucan's legs to lose himself in the sea of birds beyond. Finding him _now _would be akin to digging out a dime in a jar of nickels.

Lights. Color. Sound. It was closing in.

Nico was overcome by a wave of sickness. He doubled over, clutching his stomach and ignoring the murmurs of worry around him. More than anything, he was desperate to have some space. He just needed to breathe. Just breathe…

"Need some air," the canary muttered to nobody in particular. There was no need to push through the crowded dance floor—few birds lacked the sense to avoid close proximity with the ill.

The air outside was refreshingly crisp and cool. Leaves rustled gently in the breeze, tickling the metal of the old plane that formed the birds' samba club. It was relatively quiet, peaceful—though he still felt fairly awful, Nico found he could breathe again out here. He focused so deeply on absorbing the night's calm that he failed to notice the familiar presence on his right side, just a quick stride away.

"What brings _you_ out here, cutie?" Kali had moved into his personal space before he could so much as greet her. She placed a wing against the metal behind him, effectively trapping him. "Never did get the chance to thank you for the duet." There was a smile playing on her beak. "Next time, don't run off so fast, 'kay?"

_Next time?_ Nico's subconscious was just barely sober enough to catch that bit.

The female canary withdrew a step or two, her expression apprehensive. "Come to think of it, man," she started, casually crossing her wings, "you don't look so hot."

"Jus' water," came the strange but entirely serious reply.

Kali stared blankly, absentmindedly glancing right and left as though expecting some bird to run out and announce a practical joke. "Right, well… you sit tight, alright?" she instructed gently, backing away.

Nico frowned and moved to follow her, shaking his head. "Stay," he said flatly, reaching a wing out.

"Hey, I'll be back in a flash!" the female canary called reassuringly over her shoulder, drawing nearer to the plane's underbelly that marked the entrance to the samba club. "Don't move, yeah? I'm gonna get someone. Stay there, just stay there…"

Those words were the last he heard as dark spots overtook his vision like drizzling rain working itself into a downpour. Soon, blackness hooded his conscious mind, and that was all he knew.

**Author's Note:** _Okay, the song was "Higher" by Taio Cruiz featuring Kylie Minogue (or alternatively, Travie McCoy). I blended the two versions sliiiightly, but if you listen, you'll notice I focused almost entirely on the Minogue feature. Next chapter will be kicking things into higher gear, but the update may not come as quickly as the last few. We'll see how numb my wrists are feeling after schoolwork gets typed up. Meanwhile, just know that this will be the height of Kali's appearances for a while. Also, you will be meeting the new villain rather shortly. I'm too braindead to accurately portray how enthusiastic I am about the coming plot just now, so I will leave it at that. Thanks for reading/reviewing! ;)_


	4. Swing City Blues

**Author's Note:** _Sorry! This took longer to write than planned. I had written two pages only to decide they were trash. Problem is that I can't write unless I'm in a good mood, and suffice to say, those two pages were not the product of a happy day. I'm back on track though, so no worries. Unfortunately, I do have ridiculous amounts of stuff to do for school that's coming due, thus my next few updates may not be particularly speedy. We'll see how it goes! Now prepare to meet my lovely new villain. :)_

Nico pulled his knees closer to his chest, forming himself into a ball. Darkness and warmth were all around him, but the peaceful haze of sleep was fading into a series of pulses. The first, he realized, was the throbbing headache attempting to split his skull; the second was too unfamiliar to be placed. He moaned a bit, trying to get comfortable and savor unconsciousness a while longer, yet to no avail.

Slowly and reluctantly, the canary cracked an eye open. He rolled over onto his back and frowned. What was that crack of light above him? Where was he? Vague, flickering images surfaced in his mind and he realized that being at the club was the last thing he could remember. Well, it was a start…

Light suddenly flooded Nico's field of vision, temporarily blinding him. He threw a wing up to shield his face until his eyes adjusted; still squinting somewhat, he dared to peek—and just as soon wished he hadn't.

Enormous round brown eyes were positioned just inches away, endlessly staring. They were set beneath a furrowed dark-skinned brow that was further framed by flaming red-orange hair, reminiscent of the tinge in Kali's feathers. That was all the detail available for scrutiny at such close range, but it was more than enough to confirm one thing: this creature was no bird.

The canary screamed (well, he would later prefer to think of it as "yelling") and scrambled to his feet, prepared to run as far as he needed to. Darkness closed off his escape like a clam shell, though, and he quickly resorted to banging on the walls of his confinements. The relative "mushiness" of the walls was confounding and seemed to render them impermeable to feathered fists. What devil's work was this? Even in his panic, he recalled tales of just such "padded walls," and he was convinced those had never ended in "happily ever after."

A girlish voice, only slightly muffled, boomed all around him: "Hush now, lemon drop! There's no need for all that fuss…"

Nico's eyes widened. Padded walls, voices in the dark, the bright light from before—there was no question about it, he was going crazy. Had he gone and hit his head during some performance? Wait, his head! He immediately began feeling around for his bottle cap, but it was gone.

"No, no, no," the canary started muttering to himself like a mantra, sliding down onto his knees.

Again, overwhelming light broke through the shadows, and again, the large brown eyes became visible. They were only slightly farther away this time; just far enough that a flat nose with slitted nostrils and a delicately curved mouth line could be made out. Definitely not a bird, so what exactly was it, anyway?

"M-m-monkey!" Nico exclaimed with a start, just now noticing that the padded walls were nothing more and nothing less than said monkey's soft brown palms.

"Humph!" came the offended response. "That's golden lion tamarin to _you_, birdie."

The canary let out a nervous squeak as the tamarin carefully pinched her impressively long fingers around one of his ankles and held him upside down by it for inspection. She tilted her head in apparent amusement as he beat his wings quicker than a hummingbird in an effort to get away. After a minute of this wasted exertion, his chest was heaving wildly with nothing to show for it.

"My name is Candelaria. Real fancy, isn't it? The humans call me Candy."

Nico froze at this, allowing himself to dangle uselessly while he processed the word. "H-humans?" he inquired anxiously, looking around as though he half-expected one to arrive. What had he gotten himself into?

"Oh, just my parents," the tamarin replied plainly, exposing pearly whites in a smile. She turned to pull a framed photo off the flat surface beside her—a child-sized vanity complete with mirror (the reflection showed a powder pink room beyond which housed every furnishing imaginable, and a small window through which palm trees and a glimpse of the open ocean were visible). The photo displayed two grinning humans cradling a diapered orange-red monkey.

This was way too weird. This had to be a dream.

"Wake up, wake up… _wake up_!" the canary murmured frantically, slapping himself with his own wings.

Candy snorted. "Don't be silly, lemon drop," she chided, prodding the small bird's belly with her free hand. After a pause, she declared with intentional ambiguity, "You're lucky to be here, you know."

"What?" Nico asked suspiciously, glowering; much as he hated to look attentive, he _was _curious about the gap in his memory.

"Found you in the jungle last night," the tamarin explained with a bored shrug of her shoulders, propping her chin in one hand and swinging her captive about in a gentle circle with the other. "All alone, you were. Thought you were dead, _buuuut_…"

"I'm not," the canary managed to say, struggling to focus on her words while she continued to swing him about. His face had flushed bright red beneath his feathers from being held upside down this whole time and the throbbing in his head had only increased; it wouldn't be long until he popped.

Candy released her grip without warning and watched as the small bird fell into her lap. "Well, I'm sure your friends will be looking for you," she said with a heavy sigh.

Nico shook his feathers out and fluttered to the edge of the vanity. "Yeah, thanks," he replied carefully, backing away.

The tamarin's large brown eyes had grown increasingly watery when she suddenly buried her face into her palms, sobbing loudly and uncontrollably. Her entire furry body was racked with some unstated sorrow, quivering and convulsing like the jungle during a rainstorm.

_Awkward_, the canary groaned internally. "So, uh… what's wrong?"

Throwing her head up dramatically, Candy fixed her pitiful expression on the small bird. "It's nothing," she sniffed, wiping at a few tears. "My club's just—it's—oh, you wouldn't understand."

"Oh. You have a club?" Nico raised his eyebrow in surprise. "Never heard about—"

Violent sobbing erupted all over again. "Of course, no one's _heard_ of it!" the tamarin shrieked, her forehead smacking down against the vanity in despair. She raked her fingers roughly through her own fur, pulling at clumps of it. When she composed herself, she sniffled and added, "Monkeys can't _sing_, you know. Imagine that, birdie! A dance club with no singers… it's JUST awful."

"Maybe I could—" the canary started to say, then thought better of it. He mentally slapped himself, knowing that what he'd been about to suggest was insane.

Candy blinked at him with a wide, childish stare of inquiry. "What was that?" she asked sweetly, leaning closer to the small bird.

"Er, n-nothing…"

The tamarin barely concealed a pout. "Sorry, I just thought…" she trailed off, turning away and continuing more quietly, almost inaudibly, "since I saved your _life_ and all." Shaking her head and throwing her hands up in an extravagant display of frustration, she exclaimed, "What was I thinking though? He doesn't owe me anything! I don't even know his name!"

"Nico. My name's Nico."

"Isn't that just a fabulous name?" Candy mused, stroking her furry chin. "I had an aunt, twice removed, and her name was Nicolette, if you can believe it!" She whirled back to face the small bird and cracked a smile. "But enough about me, right? How about a favor? One little gig at my club's all I'm asking. Say yes, lemon drop, and I'll have your name in LIGHTS."

"I don't know," Nico said doubtfully, glancing over his shoulder at the sunlit jungle beyond the room's window. "My friends are probably out looking for me…"

"Just _one night_," the tamarin emphasized pleadingly. "They won't even know you're gone!"

Well, maybe he did owe her at least this much. That thought in mind, the canary very slowly nodded in agreement. "Okay, one night." He felt hesitant even as he said it, but there was no taking it back now. "One song and then I'm out."

**RIO**

"I'mma wring his scrawny neck!" Pedro burst out furiously, curling his wingtip around a nearby plant stem and decapitating its crowning blossom for effect. He glared at the wilting flower for a moment and then tossed it over his shoulder with a grunt of disdain. "That's what I'mma do. Just like that!"

Rafael winced. "Take, it easy, amigo," he said gently, raising an eyebrow at the wounded plant whose milky white innards were now spilling out. "Nico wouldn't just—"

"Nico?" the cardinal interjected, looking confused. When realization dawned on him, he laughed despite himself. "Uh-uh, bird! We ain't on the same page." His expression darkened again. "I'm talkin' Enzo…"

The toucan's beak formed a hard line. "Word around Rio is he's been spiking the nectar."

Pedro crossed his wings and kicked at the ground. "Man, what's his deal? I trusted that guy! He's been drummin' at the club forever." He sighed, allowing his gaze to wander to the trees. "Never shoulda walked away last night. If anythin' happens…"

"C'mon, my friend, don't blame yourself," Rafael tried, placing a wing lightly on his friend's shoulder.

"Who said that? Anythin' happens and it's Enzo's _face_ that's gonna pay for it," the cardinal replied with a short, dark laugh. "Just you wait."

Kali shot out of the leaves without warning, landing breathlessly nearby. Seeing the hopeful look in the other two birds' eyes, she shook her head sadly. "Sorry, boys. I've got nothing," she said regretfully, straightening out her flight feathers. "I must have chatted up half the birds in the jungle, but it's just no use. No one's seen him since last night."

"Chat up the other half then, 'ey?!" Pedro snapped at her without thinking.

The canary stepped back a bit, ducking her head until her feathery crest fell over her eyes. "I'll ask around until we find him, I swear," she uttered with every sincerity, already spreading her wings again.

"Oi, wait! I didn't mean—"

"It's cool. Really," Kali said with a strange, faraway half-smile. "He was with me last, so…"

Rafael cleared his throat, directing all eyes to him. "Listen up, amigos. You've gotta focus!" He pulled the two smaller birds into a loose hug and offered a warm smile down at them. "Nico's still out there somewhere, but stand around looking for someone to blame and you're _never_ going to find him, got it?"

"Not hatin' on the sentiment, Rafy, but we're still lookin' at dead ends," Pedro uttered flatly, staring hard at the ground. "He coulda gone anywhere from here."

"Well—" the toucan began, faltering when he realized that his optimism and logic were no longer in agreement.

"Hold up, you two!" the canary piped up after a stretch of silence, her amber eyes intense. She moved away to where she could pace, brow furrowed in a pensive expression. "What about the club?"

"What about it?" the cardinal shrugged in response.

Kali glanced at him with some exasperation. "Clues, Pedro! Clues…"

"We ain't got any."

The canary donned a hint of a smile, tapped the top of her beak, and said vaguely, "The nose knows."

Rafael suddenly slapped a wing over his face, catching on to the small bird's budding idea. "Of course! Dios mio, why didn't I think of that?" he asked himself in disbelief, breaking into a run and spreading his wings to catch the breeze with Kali hot on his tail. Looking back down over his shoulder, he called urgently, "Vamos! Let's go, Pedro!"

"Wha— 'ey, 'ey! What'd I miss? Where we going?!" Pedro yelled after his friends, beating his wings hard to catch up with them.

The toucan pointed a wing toward the city as he broke through the treetops. "Luiz's garage!"

**RIO**

"Welcome to the ever fabulous _Swing City_!" Candy said proudly, gesturing to a large clearing encircled by flaming tiki torches. There was a relatively small boulder positioned at center, which was presumably the club's stage, and all around that, flattened grass served as a dance floor. Sky-scraping trees of many varieties formed a tight ring around the area, their farthest reaching branches creating the illusion of a ceiling.

Nico gazed around with interest from where he was perched on the tamarin's shoulder. In the eerie glow of firelight, hundreds of eyes studied him with just as much interest. Monkeys were practically spilling out of the shadows, hesitating on the boundary between their club and the jungle.

"Looks good," the canary offered politely, clearing his throat.

Candy waved her hand dismissively. "Oh, stop! I know it's not much yet," she sighed with a wistful tone, reaching up with her tail until she found a certain limb and hoisted herself into the trees. Casually, she remarked, "Nothing like your cute little club in the alley, is it?"

"Oh, uh, that burned down…"

"Did it now? How awful! I couldn't imagine. What ever happened?"

"Rat problem," Nico replied, grimacing at the still too recent memories. "We bounced back."

The tamarin nodded at this as she lowered herself into an empty hammock that boasted a flawless view of the clearing. Seemingly taking this as some cue, the other monkeys dropped from the branches and assumed positions amidst the tiki torches.

Within seconds, several marmosets were handing a selection of drinks to Candy, who accepted only a coconut filled with milk and decorated by a swirly green straw before sending them away.

Shifting his weight anxiously, the canary started to say, "Should I just—"

"By all means," the tamarin interrupted, lazily jerking her head in the direction of the rock.

Nico glided down to the makeshift stage and landed neatly dead center. He was more than a little eager to get this whole "gig" over with, but it was difficult to find his voice with all these monkeys staring at him so expressionlessly. This was nothing like the crowd he'd grown accustomed to. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and tried hard to visualize a sea of colorful feathers.

"_Oooh…_" The canary kept his gaze steadily above the heads of his audience. He could feel a somber rhythm building within him; there would be no upbeat performances without Pedro by his side. "_How do I end up in the same old plaaace? Faced again with the same mistaaakes?_"

None of the monkeys stirred in the clearing. Their blank stares were almost intimidating. Candy, meanwhile, was resting her chin on the edge of the hammock, head cocked with interest as the song progressed to a silent tune.

"_So stubborn, thinking I know what is riiight…_" Nico swayed slowly back and forth, almost forgetting where he was for a blissful moment. "_But life proves me wrong every tiiime…_"

Unearthly silence prevailed in response to the canary's passionate vocals. He shrugged this off and continued to sing: "_Taking roads that lead me nowhere… how do I expect to get there?_" His voice had risen a bit and it echoed softly off the tree trunks. "_But when, oh when will I learn to just—_"

Candy suddenly brought her hands together in a single loud clap, startling the small bird from his performance. When he looked over in surprise, she was rubbing her palms together with a crooked half-smile.

"Uh…" Nico glanced around awkwardly, not sure what to say. "Was that okay?"

"Perfectly delightful," the tamarin replied blithely. "What a voice!"

The canary nodded in confusion, taking a hesitant step back. "Thanks, I guess." Was it just paranoia or had the few marmosets nearest to the rock started to close in? He swallowed hard, averting his eyes from the audience's unified stare. "I'll just go now."

"And where would you go?"

"Home," Nico said firmly, feeling his stomach clench. "My friends—"

"Oh, pish posh! I can't just let you _leave_," Candy cut in with a giggle, letting one arm hang over the side of the hammock.

"But you _said_—"

The tamarin rolled her eyes. "He said, she said," she mumbled carelessly, feigning a yawn. Her large brown eyes grew intense and her mouth formed into an ugly smirk. "Deal's off, lemon drop."

"Stay, stay, stay! Stay, stay, stay!" Monkeys all around had worked themselves into a frenzy and were now chanting loudly, pumping their fists in the air. On the outskirts, some began to beat their chest and shriek wildly above the chanting—the collective noise was deafening. "Stay, stay, stay! Stay, stay, stay!"

Candy smiled wordlessly and spread her hands out in a helpless shrug, leaning back into her hammock.

_Just great_, the canary sighed internally. How was he getting out of _this _mess? When the answer occurred to him, he had to resist the urge to slap himself. Of course, he had wings! These monkeys weren't exactly masterminds if they hadn't thought about that. Feeling smug now, he tensed his muscles and prepared to take flight.

"Stay, stay, stay! Stay, stay, stay!"

Nico puffed his chest out and locked eyes with the tamarin. "Find yourself another singer."

**Author's Note:** _Whoo, I made it to the end! SUCCESS. My wrists are freaking killing me, but that's quite alright. Oh, how I would love to ramble on about the things I have planned, but that would take away all the suspense. There's been some definite forethought here, so you can expect this plot to be a little more "deliberate" in its execution than Heartsong's was. I'm still mostly winging it overall though because that keeps things exciting for me. Hehe. Just so you know, I've decided against pushing Kali into obscurity due to seemingly popular demand. 'Twas not the plan, but the readers have spoken! On a random note, you get a cookie if you can guess where the name "Swing City" stems from. Oh, almost forgot! The song was just the beginning of "Move On" by Bruno Mars. Thanks for reading and reviewing, my dear people. It's much appreciated and much as I love to write, there's no harm in fueling the fire. ;)_


	5. Lost Not Forgotten

**Author's Note: **_Before anything else, it's __very important__ to note that the second/middle scene below (with Pedro/etc) is __out of sync__ with the timeline. If you're confused, refer back to the last chapter's scene with Pedro, Rafael, and Kali because it's meant to happen RIGHT after that. Nico's first scene below, though, is happening in the night that follows (after his performance at Swing City). Have I lost you? Heh, I'm sorry! I'll try and put things back into a linear timeline soon. Please enjoy, and thanks for the reviews! :)_

"Why so glum, sugar plum?"

Nico was struggling to breathe under a dogpile of marmosets, but he still managed to conjure up a meaningful glare. His flight to freedom had been short-lived, to say the least. Now, he couldn't so much as wriggle his wings under the weight of more monkeys than he cared to count.

Candy's rotten smile was perhaps the only thing worse than defeat.

"Aww, don't look at me that way," the tamarin complained, her voice laced with synthetic sympathies as she waltzed across the clearing. "Really now, you're surprised? Thought you'd flutter off just like that?"

The canary said nothing, only continued to glare. It wasn't exactly for a lack of words—frankly, he just wasn't able to spare the oxygen.

"That'll do it, boys."

Marmosets scattered left and right with a mere snap of Candy's fingers. Her tail lashed out and coiled around Nico before he could so much as fill his lungs, and she yanked him close to her face. Fruit scented breath tickled his feathers as she murmured, "It's not so bad… you'll get used to it." She laughed softly in his ear. "All you have to do is sing!"

"And if I refuse?" the canary asked grimly, squirming uncomfortably in the tightening grip.

"Oh, you'll find I can be _very_ persuasive."

Nico didn't doubt that. He suppressed the shudder that threatened to betray his nerves and averted his gaze to focus on the marmosets who stood nearby, watching. There was something tense about their posture, something unspoken in their wide eyes; he recognized the source of both—plain old fear.

"Xoana! Fetch the bag," the tamarin instructed one of the smaller marmosets, already holding out a hand impatiently. "Quickly now, Xoana! Don't make me wait."

Stumbling forward with a large white sock, Xoana set it down like an offering, murmuring, "The bag, Mizz Candy."

"Hey, wai—" The canary's protest died in his throat as he was forced into the cottony prison and an overwhelming stench enveloped his senses. He half-heartedly lashed out at the fabric with fist and foot, coughing and sputtering all the while. Meanwhile, the sock was set in motion across the jungle floor, leaving rocks and twigs to jab mercilessly at him as they passed beneath.

Candy's voice could be heard close by. "Come along, come along…"

_Like I have a choice_, Nico thought with a bitter sigh.

**RIO**

Giggles and playful growls overlaid the typical soundscape of Luiz's garage; voices whispered back and forth, punctuated by clanking machinery. Their source was the underbelly of a broken down vehicle, near which shuffling and snippets of conversation became ever louder. For all intended purposes, it was safe to assume that a certain bulldog was responsible for at least half of the unexplained noises.

Kali hung back with a skeptical expression. "I'm thinking he sounds a little busy, guys."

"Luiz? You there?" Rafael called from a safe distance, crouching a little to squint into the shadows. There was only silence in response, so he tried again with, "Come on out, buddy. We need your help!"

A plump brown and white backside slowly reversed into the light and then turned to expose a confused, drooling face. "Oi, Rafy! Good to see you, man, but…" the bulldog trailed off briefly, glancing sheepishly over his beefy shoulder. "Can't it wait?"

The toucan raised an eyebrow, but before he could say anything, a moan of displeasure was heard. A smirk crept onto his beak as a feminine face with a pouty snout peered over Luiz, who now looked positively bashful. _That explains that_, he mused silently, shaking his head.

Nearby, Pedro flashed a devious grin. "Aww, yeah. Respect, dog!" he hollered, winking irreverently.

Laughing nervously and pawing at his ear, the bulldog said, "Guys, this is Maya."

Rafael bowed graciously, his beak dipping until it nearly scraped the pavement. "Ola, senhora," he greeted with a warm smile before straightening back up.

Maya, a visibly pedigreed Lhasa Apso, was scarcely able to force a half-smile in return. She cleared her throat and boredly plopped down, bringing up a well-manicured paw for casual examination. "I'm bored, Lou," she sighed, nudging his flank impatiently and eyeing the three birds with mild disdain.

"'Ey, we ain't tryin' to crash your party, but—"

"It's _really_ important," Kali concluded.

There was a long pause in which Luiz appeared impossibly torn between the attentions of a certain glowering Lhasa and the pleading stares of his feathered friends. He groaned unhappily, already knowing the choice he would make. "This better be good, bro," he mumbled with a pointed glance at Rafael. Slurping back some drool, he then gave Maya a sloppy lick on the cheek. "Sorry, dumpling… gimme a sec?"

"Ugh, what_ever_."

Maya stalked off around the side of the garage, tail held high like a flag. Only when she was thoroughly out of sight did the bulldog turn his attention to the three birds. "Hey, wait a sec. This ain't right. Where's my little buddy at?" he asked in confusion, tilting his head and frowning, which piled even more wrinkles than normal onto his brow.

Pedro exhaled impatiently. "That's kinda the issue we've been gettin' at, man."

"So, what happened? Don't hold out on me, guys!"

"Nico's not been seen since last night at the club. We're not really sure what happened. Ay, it's hard to say, you know?" Rafael admitted with a shrug, looking shamefaced. He paused a moment, sighing wearily, and continued with, "Seems he had some nectar before that."

Luiz gasped appreciatively at this detail, drool dripping from his gaping jaws. "Nectar? But the kid's such a lightweight!"

"I saw him just… _before_," Kali chimed in, wringing her wingtips in front of her. "He wasn't looking so good. No way he could have gone home! I was gonna get someone, but… I shoulda just stayed."

"Hey, c'mon," Pedro said as he placed a friendly wing around the clearly guilt-ridden canary's shoulder and gave her a squeeze. He forced a smile and lifted his chin until he was staring confidently into the bulldog's big brown eyes. "What it comes down to, bird—er, dog—is we're gonna be needin' that nose of yours, a'ight?"

"Wha? My nose? Uh, I wanna help, but I think you've got the wrong dog," Luiz replied skeptically, glancing around at the group. They were watching him blankly, so he tapped his stubby snout as he pointed out, "This ain't the stuff of them hound dogs."

The cardinal just shrugged, seeming unfazed by this development. "Best we got," he declared decisively.

"I hate to say it, amigo, but he's right," Rafael agreed flatly while Kali just nodded.

"Huh. Should I be offended by that?" The bulldog's brow was intensely creased and he was scratching at his chin with one of his back paws. "'Cause, you know, I kinda feel like I should—"

"LUIZ!" the three birds yelled out in uncoordinated simultaneity.

For good measure, the toucan added: "Please, amigo."

"Whoa, whoa!" Luiz exclaimed, eyes wide with surprise at their outburst as he held up his paws defensively. "Keep your feathers on, birds!"

Pedro started rocking back and forth on his heels with growing impatience. "We're wastin' time, man! Enough talkin' and let's get walkin'. Move it!" He pointed his wing firmly in the direction of the jungle. "For real, if Nico's gettin' barbequed out there, I'm gonna hold you all personally responsible!"

"Who'd barbeque a _canar_y?" Kali asked incredulously, though a shudder of abject horror still ran down her spine.

The cardinal just rolled his eyes at the question. "That ain't the _point_, chica."

"Wait, hold up. Where we walking to exactly?" The bulldog was looking nervously toward the jungle, observing how the terrain rose steadily from the outskirts of the city to culminate in hills so steep that he was sweating just _thinking_ about the trek upwards. "'Cause I'm not so good with the physical stuff."

"Ay caramba," Rafael sighed out, scratching the back of his neck with one wing. He threw a glance at his friends for help, saying, "Well… got any ideas, you two?"

Kali opened her beak to say something, then closed it and shook her head, thoroughly stumped.

Pedro, though, raised a wing. "Here's one," he began vaguely, stepping forward and launching himself into the air before anyone could blink. "I'mma leave you to it. And don't say no, Rafy. It's gettin' dark and every minute counts, a'ight?" After a brief pause, he added more quietly, "He's my best friend. I don't like him out there alone this long."

"I'll come with," the canary immediately volunteered, though her tone implied it was more of a question than a statement.

The cardinal offered a small, grateful smile, but shook his head. "Nah, just me, Kal…"

"You sure, man? I mean…" Kali started to say, trailing off. She brushed back her feathery crest and tried to return her friend's smile. "If you find out _anything_—"

"Girl, you'll be the first to know," Pedro assured her, performing a mock salute and grinning impishly.

The canary winked and laughed softly. "That's what I like to hear!" she said, nodding sharply in satisfaction. Just before turning away, she gestured breezily to the jungle with her wing, adding, "Now get going already!"

Rafael shook his head as he watched the cardinal's form morph into a mere speck of color against the lavender skies. "Let's catch up before he does something reckless," he chuckled, only half-joking.

"Seriously, where we walking to?" Luiz asked for the second time, his expression growing all the more worried when the two remaining birds exchanged amused glances. Gulping and glancing at the jungle's elevation again, he continued squeakily, "Guys? It's not that far, right? _Right_?"

Kali patted the bulldog's beefy ankle with her wing. "Don't worry about it, amigo!" she said with a grin, imitating a certain toucan's voice.

"Well said, chica," Rafael laughed, ruffling the canary's head feathers.

**RIO**

Nico couldn't seem to recall falling asleep, but there he was blinking his eyes open in the face of the pale morning light. He groggily pulled himself up to observe his surroundings—cage wires were staring him in the face. _Not this again_, he sighed internally, gripping the nearest object for balance as he stood. The object moved unexpectedly, so he turned his head to look at it. A wheel? He frowned, but shook the confusion away; there would be time to ponder that later.

Something soft and pleasantly woodsy in smell was scattered beneath the canary's feet. Tree shavings, he noted. In the corner, something rustled beneath a small mound of the stuff. At least, he thought so. He cautiously stepped forward to inspect, hoping that he'd imagined it. The mound was stiller than a statue now, but it was best to be sure.

Quicker than lightning, a furry head poked out with eyes so wide, its sockets were stretched to the max. "MINE, MINE!" the creature yelled as it made a dash for the ceramic food bowl in the corner and began to stuff its cheeks at top speed.

"Gah!" Nico had fallen over in surprise at the unexpected appearance of… whatever that thing was. He thought it looked suspiciously like a rat, which had caused his chest to constrict briefly, but to his relief, there was a visible lack of any naked pink tails. "What _are_ you?" he asked a bit suspiciously, cocking his head to the side.

The thing stared blankly, then repeated the question in a muffled tone: "Fwat a'woo?"

"Oh, uh… me? I'm a canary."

"Ahm a comhary!" There was a long pause. "MWINE."

Nico slapped a wing over his face in frustration. "This is gonna be a long day," he grumbled, kicking wood chips aside as he marched over to the bars and peered out into the powder pink room beyond. The cage's plastic bottom was reflected in the vanity's mirror nearby; if he squinted, he could read the words painted on it, and he slowly sounded them out: "Haaam-sterrr Haaab-Ee-Taaat…"

"Haamsterrr," came the partial echo from behind, followed by more rustling about in the food bowl.

"That's what you are?" the canary questioned, not really expecting an answer. He wasn't even sure that it mattered to know. To his surprise, though, the furry creature did indeed nod in response to this query.

Silence passed between them for a few moments until the hamster finished stuffing pellets into his mouth, narrowed his eyes in warning, and then began to back away into the corner of the cage again. "Mwiiiine," he reminded his 'roommate' through bulging cheeks. With that, he burrowed into the tree shavings and disappeared altogether.

"Not the brightest button in the box," Nico muttered as he wandered to the wheel he'd first discovered upon waking and poked at it with his wingtip. With a shrug, he slid himself into the bottom and laid down, allowing a foot to dangle off the side. The metal was pleasantly cool against his spine.

The canary began to tap out a beat with his foot, and just as spontaneously, he softly sang, "_I picture something. It's beauuutiful! It's full of life and it is all bluuue._" His eyes closed and he leaned his head back against the wheel. "_I see a sunset on the beach, yeaaah… it makes me feel calm. When I'm calm, I feel goood…_"

Nico's voice had attracted the attention of the hamster, who was now peeking out from his mound as the song continued: "_And when I feel good, I siiing… and the joy it brings makes me feel goood! And when I feel good, I siiing of the joy it brings—_"

A drawn out creaking sound brought the song to a premature halt. The door was opening and Candy's head appeared around it, her pleasant smile distorted by the darkness in her eyes. "Don't stop on my account," she drawled as she strolled fully into the room in a human-like fashion. When the canary only glowered in response, she shrugged carelessly. "Fine then, lemon drop. Save your voice! You'll need it..."

The double meaning in that remark was something Nico wished he was imagining, but the strange glint in his captor's gaze left him feeling wary. Still, he only frowned and pointedly averted his stare.

"Aww, what's wrong, grumpy feathers? Woke up on the wrong side of the nest?" the tamarin asked teasingly, bringing her lips together in a rather exaggerated pout. Giggling to herself, she lazily climbed onto the stool that had been placed in front of her vanity. The mirror caught her reflection, causing her to smile in satisfaction and blow a quick kiss to it.

Several marmosets rushed into the room unannounced, stopping just short of barreling each other over like dominoes. They formed a semi-circle and stood at attention while one stepped forward and loudly cleared his throat.

Candy glanced disinterestedly at the smaller monkeys. "Yeah, yeah. What is it?"

"W-well, Mizz… we, uh, it's just—"

"You're _boring_ me, Roque."

Chest puffed out, another of the marmosets pushed to the forefront and announced loudly, "We have news of the fat one, Senhora Candelaria. According to last night's lookout, he may suspect—"

The tamarin raised a single finger to demand silence, brow furrowed and eyes narrowed. She jerked her head at the door as she hopped off her stool, throwing a warning look at Nico on her way out—she had noticed him leaning against the bars and listening with rapt interest to the marmoset's report.

Voices drifted in from the hall, but the words were now too muddled to make out. It was enough though; just enough to put the canary's mind at ease. That had to be Pedro they were talking about. He smiled, knowing his friends were out looking for him. They hadn't given up and neither would he. Still, why wait around to be rescued?

Nico straightened up with renewed spirit and stomped over to the front of the cage. He studied it carefully, taking note of the thin silver paperclip that had been twisted around to hold the door up. If he could just undo that…

The canary lifted a leg, curled his toes around a foothold, gripped one of the higher wires with one wingtip, and then heaved his weight off the cage floor. After a few repeats of this process, he was able to reach through the bars and take hold of the paperclip. He held his breath, feeling his heart pound anxiously as he started to twist the makeshift latch apart.

"Almost got it," Nico uttered lowly, watching his wings work as though they belonged to another bird.

All at once, the paperclip fell to the carpet and the flimsy wire door fell open with a soft bang that, nonetheless, seemed to resound through the room like a gunshot in the canary's nervous mind. He had flinched at the noise, but seeing that no monkeys had hurried to confront him offered a bit of courage.

"Time to get outta here…"

**Author's Note:** _Okay, so this was a bit of a filler chapter, but it had to be done. I'm building up to an important scene which is soon to come. Oh, the song was part of "The Freedom Song" by Jason Mraz. Noteworthy life stuff now: I've got a huge Anthropology test in a week plus an essay and tons of reading to do over the weekend, so I'm afraid my next update won't be out quickly by any means. Alas, no worries, I've got some lovely evil plans for the next chapter and I'll be getting that out to you ASAP!_

_(To Niah09) – Sin City, actually. ;) And nope, no plans for fire (been there, done that), but it's good that you're paying attention. You never know when an author might drop a clue. I more than like dogs, by the way, I absolutely love them! They're my favorite animal, and I've currently got two elderly adoptees, a Maltese and a Lhasa Apso. Concerning Enzo, you'll just have to wait and see, 'cause my lips are sealed.__ Thank you kindly for the review!_


	6. Cutting It Close, Pt 1

**Author's Note:** _I'm not dead! Just really, really busy. And when I'm not busy, my wrists tend to be tired from being busy, so it's a vicious circle. BUT I found some time to write at long last. Yay! Here's the catch: this isn't a full chapter, hence the "part one" in the title. Why not wait to publish? Because it's been a crazy long time since I updated (compared to how fast I worked before) and I wanted to give you guys something! The result is a huge cliffhanger regarding Nico's fate here, but I think you can probably see where that's all gonna be going. ;) So yes, "part two" (AKA the scene where I get to ruin Nico's life) will be out soon (published separately). Hope that's alright with everyone! Enjoooy…_

Out in the hallway, Nico wouldn't dare to fly. His wing beats would surely be overheard. Fists clenched at his sides, he tiptoed along the carpet—if the situation were less serious, he might have found time to be annoyed that his weight failed to even impress on the plush flooring—and kept close to the wall.

Running water sounded from the doorway he was approaching. It was closed. Hesitating, he crouched down and peered beneath the crack to see a few marmosets playing giddily in a bubbling over bath. From the look of it, they would be in there for a while, and so putting them out of mind was likely a safe gamble. Straightening up and glancing around, the canary pressed forward.

Another doorway, this one across the hall, came into view. The door was wide open, revealing the contents of an extremely disorganized office, but it was fairly dark inside with the shades all drawn.

Nico clenched his beak as he realized that the hallway's end was drawing too near for comfort. Candy's irritatingly distinct and sassy voice echoed from elsewhere in the house, punctuated by interjections from her nervously jabbering minions. Any means by which he might avoid confronting them would be best. Ideally, he would be halfway across Rio before they even noticed him missing. First things first, though—there just had to be an open window around here!

Just a few seconds later: "Yes!"

The canary had to clap his wings tightly around his beak, silently berating himself over the outburst. He allowed himself to breathe out only when he was confident he hadn't been overheard. Turning then to face the room behind him from where a breeze tickled his feathers, he smiled victoriously. Thin white curtains were dancing invitingly around a small window, beckoning him to escape.

There wasn't a minute to lose. Nico launched himself into the air, ready to quite literally throw caution to the wind, and bolted toward the sunlight. Something caught his eye as he approached, but it was too late to change course when he realized the implications of the object. So, with a devastating bang, he crashed headfirst into glass.

A lazily spinning fan was tucked into the room's corner, its white paint blending with the walls. This was the source of the "breeze" and the dancing curtains.

_No, no, no! _Tears of pain and frustration were welling up in the canary's brown eyes as he dizzily leaned against a leg of furniture. He could hear the scuffling of feet entering the hallway, no doubt belonging to a marmoset instructed to inspect the mysterious noise. A heavy sigh slipped from his beak. _One, two_—

"MIZZ CANDY, COME QUICK! COME QUICK!"

Nico glared over his shoulder at the gray furred critter who was already sneering back at him. Then, breaking eye contact, he rubbed at his forehead, wincing as his wingtip brushed against the large bruise now forming beneath his feathers.

"Oh, what _now_? This had better be—" The tamarin stopped short of entering the room, suddenly consumed by a fit of silvery laughter. "Well, well! This _is_ interesting. Don't know when to give up… do you, lemon drop?"

The canary's toes were curling angrily into the carpet. He closed his eyes, keeping his back to her while still trying to chase away the dizziness from his impact.

"Mizz Candy! Did I do good?! Did I?!"

Candy raised an eyebrow at the marmoset who was clinging to her leg with a toothy grin and hopeful eyes. Her face slit into a smile and she patted his head, nodding affirmatively. "Yes, yes. Very good, uh—Alonzo? Paco? Chavez! No? Oh well." Scratching her chin a moment, she shrugged and frowned down the tip of her nose at the smaller monkey. "Be a dear and find me Xoana, would you?"

"Right away, Senhora," came the positively deflated reply.

The silence that followed was so thick and lengthy that Nico nearly dared to hope he was alone. That was far from the truth though. Monkeys were slithering up onto any available surface, their blank stares burning into his back—but none more so than the hideously smug tamarin who was content to watch her captive writhe in the uncertainty of his fate.

After a while, small hurried footsteps entered the room and paused abruptly.

"Xoana…"

"Something I can do, Mizz?"

Eyes shadowed with dark intent, Candy gave her instructions in a low voice: "Fetch me the scissors."

"As you like," Xoana squeaked out. She dipped her head, took a few slow steps back into the hall, and then scampered away at top speed.

Nico stood frozen. In his head, it seemed as though the word "scissors" was still echoing loudly in the room. He knew very well what scissors were and the many things humans used them for, but it struck him as unlikely that any monkey here was interested in a haircut. A sense of dread was stabbing at his belly like needles; panic was constricting his heart, throwing its rhythm off completely; every quill on his body was humming with electricity. This could only be bad. His instincts were screaming it.

**RIO**

Luiz was close to death's door when the foliage-covered old plane—otherwise known as Rio's hottest bird club, _The Next Level_—came into view. He collapsed, rolled onto his back, and stuck his four aching legs skyward. Exhausted didn't come close to describing how he felt after trekking day and night to arrive atop this sun-beaten cliff that overlooked Rio in all its glory.

Giggling at her friend's expense, Kali hovered overhead like a vulture before settling onto the ground. She extended a leg to poke at the bulldog's blubbery flank. There was no reaction.

"C'mon, amigo! It's not so bad," Rafael said encouragingly, perching heavily on Luiz's ribcage and smiling brightly.

"You an' me… we ain't coming back from this, bro," the bulldog finally groaned, lifting his head to glower half-heartedly. "This ain't even mean. It's so much more… it's—uh, gimme a word."

"Salubrious?" the toucan offered with a shrug of his wings. He bit back a smirk.

"Uh, yeah. Salubringish!" There was a pause. "It means bad, yeah?"

Rafael winked. "Matter of opinion, my friend."

Puzzlement was painted all over Luiz's wrinkled face. He seemed to be pondering his friend's words very carefully, almost to the point of forgetting that every muscle in his body felt comparable to lead. Only the sight of a familiar face arriving from the jungle snapped him back to reality.

"What's the deal, dog? This ain't a slumber party," Pedro said somewhat irritably, crossing his wings once he had landed nearby. His eyes were bloodshot from sleep deprivation and his beak was set in a grim line, indicating that his tireless searching had gotten him no closer to finding out where Nico had been taken.

Kali took a breath and tried to ease the tension with a smile. "Relax, man… we just got here. Let him rest and then—"

"_Then_ we'll start lookin' for whatever's LEFT of my best friend," the cardinal interrupted heatedly.

"Listen! That's not cool." The canary's smile had faded. "No one's saying that."

"'Cause they ain't _gotta _say it. They just gotta lie around like it's Sunday at the beach, am I right? Like there's no canary-napping weirdo out there gettin' ready to—to do… _stuff_! BAD STUFF."

"Not even! For all we know, he's just lost or something!"

"You serious right now, bird?! If he were _lost_, he'd be _back_ already."

"That… that doesn't even make SENSE."

"Makes more sense than _you_ make! How 'bout that?!"

Rafael stepped between the two smaller birds, eyebrows raised. "Hate to cut in, amigos, but—"

"But _what_?!" Pedro yelled in exasperation, falling flat onto his rump and taking up an expression very much like a child's pout.

Rafael cleared his throat before answering. "Well, Luiz found something," he announced matter-of-factly, gesturing with one wing in the direction of the plane. "Think you'll wanna hear it."

"WHAT?!" the cardinal yelled again, echoed this time by Kali. They both glanced around in bewilderment, neither having realized that the bulldog had been up and at 'em since roughly about the time they had started bickering.

Luiz, having noticed the two birds staring at him, flashed a drool-soaked grin at them. He wagged his stubby tail and lifted a paw, jabbing it excitedly at the ground.

Pedro leapt to his feet and started forward. "Outta my way!"

"You wish," Kali scoffed, stretching out a leg to trip the larger bird. She smirked at his look of surprise, stuck her tongue out sideways, and then bolted away before he could exact any form of revenge.

"Oi, wait up! You're playin' dirty, Kal!" the cardinal complained, hurrying after her.

"Says the slowpoke," the canary shot back as she fluttered onto the bulldog's shoulder and proceeded to shake her tail feathers tauntingly.

"Dios mio," Rafael chuckled under his breath, striding over to join the group in a far more dignified manner. Nodding when silence was finally established, he said, "Alright, amigo. Go ahead."

"Okay, uh… wait, you guys gonna want the good news or the bad news first?"

"Bad news?" the three birds chorused, exchanging worried glances.

The toucan held up a wing and tilted his head in confusion. "Ay, just a minute. Nico's scent—"

"—is the good news, Rafy," Luiz declared with a sorry look, now pawing at the soil. He slurped back some drool and looked pointedly at Pedro, who was standing so close that his breath was ruffling the plump bird's stomach feathers. "There's this other scent. It might not be _bad_, but…"

"Spit it out, dog!" the cardinal demanded in frustration, gripping the bulldog's soggy jaws and leaning over his nose until he was peering straight into his round brown eyes.

Luiz sighed heavily. "I think it's a monkey, bro."

**TO BE CONTINUED (DUN DUN DUN)**

**Author's Note:** _Alright, so just to answer some things in reviews from the last chapter: ILOVENICO1000X—that's awesome, I have a Lhasa too! Her name is Darby. :) And to Strykeruk—two reasons for the hamster. First, I had three hamsters some years ago and I think they're amusing. Second, and more importantly, a soft parallel to Santos, as you picked up on. Except nowhere near as creepy! To everyone else—thank you for your patience and the well-wishing for my uncooperative wrists. Your reviews are much appreciated as always, and thanks for reading, too!_


	7. Cutting It Close, Pt 2

**Author's Note:** _Whoo! I really thought this would take me a while to write, but I squeezed some time into my schedule because I've been dying to write this scene since I first thought about it. More on that afterwards though. It is perhaps unnecessary, but I'd just like to remind everyone that this is "__part two__" of Chapter Six. It would have been published as a whole in the usual fashion if I'd realized I could, indeed, finish it this weekend. Oh well. Drags out the suspense, yes? Enjoy. ;)_

It might have been wishful thinking, but Nico entertained the thought that his vicious pecks had done some damage before the monkeys had whisked him away to the kitchen. They were now pressing him down against cold hard marble. He could feel several tiny fists digging into his spine, though in his current position it was impossible to see their faces. Never one to cooperate, he writhed and wriggled to get free, almost to the point of exhaustion. It was no good.

A clatter sounded as something was dropped just inches from the canary's beak. He blinked a few times before realizing what it was in such close proximity—a pair of dull and lightly rusted scissors with badly chipped black handles.

Xoana soon appeared next to the scissors. She glanced briefly at the immobilized little bird, but otherwise kept her gaze carefully trained anywhere else. Her hands were quivering slightly.

"Step aside," Candy snapped at the marmosets on the counter from somewhere above. They scattered, allowing her to descend over Nico like some angel of death. He had taken the opportunity, meanwhile, to attempt slithering away on his belly in serpentine fashion, but the weight of a foot on his shoulders quickly foiled that plan. "Naughty little bird," she taunted, stroking his head feathers with her tail. "But we'll fix that right up, won't we?"

Marmosets all around shrieked and whooped at this. Was it laughter or something else? Their tones were laced with sadism; it seemed that had no place in a proper laugh.

Anger was rising in the canary's oxygen-deprived chest. "Just do it already," he spat out, glowering.

"Do what?" the tamarin asked innocently, taking the scissors in hand and rolling them around in her palm. She was doing it again—toying with him, dragging out the inevitable. Like a cat reborn into a monkey's body. It was almost unbearable.

Nico closed his eyes, annoyed with his captor's love of games. "Kill me," he suggested bitterly, resting his chin on the marble.

Candy paused, tilted her head, and then broke into a hearty fit of laughter. "_Kill _you? And waste that perfect little voice?" She continued laughing, even wiping a tear from the corner of her eye.

The canary's heart clenched as the merriment came to an abrupt halt. Fingers were suddenly prying at his left wing, forcing it open to expose an array of brown-tipped yellow feathers. His muscles instinctively jerked against the rough and unwelcome grip; however, this only seemed to make the tamarin more intent on stretching the wing beyond its natural capacity.

"This may hurt," came the soft whisper in the small bird's ear, punctuated by a sound that made his skin crawl—that of the rusty scissors snapping at thin air.

SNIP.

Sheer panic overtook Nico's mind as the first of his quills gave way to the dull blade and fell aside like an autumn leaf. He had braced himself for this, or so he thought, but the reality was too much to accept. How could he possibly sit back and allow some demented monkey to hack away at the pride and joy of any bird's physical form?

"STOP IT! LET ME GO!" the canary yelled desperately, squirming like a worm on a hook. His berserk reaction was so sudden and unexpected that Candy actually did release him in her surprise. She stared blankly as he heaved himself up and went tearing down the slick countertop.

Nico was too distressed to take much advantage of his temporary freedom. He ran this way and that, looking much like a mouse lost in an invisible maze. His tongue was lolling out from anxiety when he stopped and glanced around frantically, eyes wide and mind racing to find a solution. Which way? He couldn't focus on anything! Wait, maybe if he—

Too little, too late.

A metal cheese grater gleamed in the light right before it came down over the canary, trapping him. There was a marmoset seated atop it, whose nasty chuckles were reverberating all around.

"Dear me," Candy sighed, reaching up to grab a cupboard handle and using it to swing back over to Nico. She snapped her fingers and the marmoset on the cheese grater leapt off, allowing the tamarin to lift its edge just high enough to reach under and wrap her fingers around one of the small bird's legs. This done, she slid him out from underneath and held him up to her face, watching him flap helplessly.

After a moment, the canary worked up the spirit to form a glare. "You won't get away with this."

"Hmph. Famous last words."

Nico bit back a cry of frustration as he was forced back onto his belly, feeling the chill of the marble even more than before. Once again, his right wing was ripped away from his side and aligned with the jaws of the scissors. He clenched his beak and looked away as the merciless snipping resumed.

"It pains me to do this, lemon drop," Candy lamented as she worked, brushing aside a growing pile of feathers. "You're such a pretty bird, but now…"

"And you're an old hag," the canary replied hotly, feeling his wing becoming gradually and unnaturally lighter.

The tamarin paused, her eyes narrowed, and in a dangerously low voice, she asked, "What was that?"

Huffing, Nico threw his tormentor a daring look. "You heard me."

Candy emitted a furious growl from deep in her throat. The scissors fell gracelessly from her hand, scratching the canary's neck through his feathers on their way down. "You'll regret that, lemon _squeeze_," she hissed, simultaneously pressing her weight down until she was content to hear the small bird's breaths coming in gasps.

"W-won't… _hag_…"

"XOANA! ROQUE! Finish up here," the tamarin screeched, thrusting the scissors—and a blue-faced Nico—into their waiting hands. For good measure, she added, "I want _every feather_ cut! Right down to the bone if you have to, but don't you _dare _let me see him flying."

"Oh, um, y-yes! Of course, Senhora Candelaria…"

The two marmosets watched fearfully as their angry mistress stalked out of the kitchen and disappeared down the hallway. Then, exchanging glances, worked to position themselves for the task at hand.

"What are you doing?! Hold him right!"

"I'm trying! He's slippery…"

"Wha—he's not a _fish_, Xoana!"

"Monkey brains," the canary commented in a lackluster tone, rolling his eyes. He had succumbed to a wave of exhaustion and now sagged lifelessly on the counter; he barely twitched as his left wing was yanked out for its turn at mutilation.

Roque frowned and wielded the scissors' tip dangerously close to the small bird's face. "The term is _bird_ _brain_, wise guy," he snarled.

With a strange smirk, Nico nodded. "Right. Least I've got one…"

"Listen, egghead—"

Xoana clapped a hand over her companion's mouth and shook her head in warning. "_Please_, Roque. You know what happens if we don't…" she trailed off, gulping nervously. "Let's do this quickly."

"Whatever," the other marmoset grumbled. Sneering at the canary, he said quietly, "You won't be smug much longer, kid."

**Author's Note: **_Soooo, I haven't read every single Rio fan fiction out there, but it seems to me that no one's used wing clipping as a plot device yet. I was just thinking it was a brilliant evil to use against wild birds. Impaired flight? Mutilation of their pretty feathers? Favorite-character-torture-device waiting to happen. Hehe. Okay, well, I'm glad to have this climactic moment out of the way! Really hope you liked reading it as much as I liked writing it. When will the next chapter be out? No clue, honestly. I have three large term projects due in late November among a load of other things, so we'll see! But I love you guys and your reviews are awesome and I will do my best to keep the updates from lagging too much. Thanks for reading! :)_


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